Europe News

The European Parliament is preparing to suspend the ratification of the US trade deal agreed in July, according to sources close to its committee on international trade. The announcement is expected to be made on Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, marking a significant escalation in tensions between the US and Europe. The move comes as Donald Trump intensifies his efforts to acquire Greenland, prompting threats of new US tariffs over the issue during the weekend. The standoff h

Inflation across the euro area has largely been reined in following one of the most intense price surges in recent decades, with the European Central Bank now moving into what it sees as a delicate transition period, according to ECB executive board member Philip Lane. In an interview first published by Italian newspaper La Stampa , Lane said the dramatic rise in inflation during 2021 and 2022 led the ECB to implement an aggressive tightening of monetary policy, a strategy th

Swedish law enforcement has stepped up its offensive against unauthorized financial intermediaries, warning that anyone acting as an illegal money transmitter risks long prison terms and the seizure of their assets. Criminal networks are increasingly leaning on loose, decentralized webs of willing or coerced individuals to move dirty money across borders while steering clear of regulated banks. The funds being shuffled through these channels often bankroll major criminal acti

Denmark has formally submitted proposed new controls on gambling advertising to the European Commission for scrutiny, as part of an effort to expand the regulatory and enforcement powers of the country’s gambling watchdog.   On 13 January, Spillemyndigheden, Denmark’s Gambling Authority, filed a notification with the European Commission’s Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS), triggering the EU’s mandatory review procedure for draft technical regulations. The process

The European Union has acknowledged the substantial progress achieved by South African institutions in closing long-standing gaps within the country’s financial and regulatory framework, following a period of close international scrutiny in which the jurisdiction worked to bring its domestic laws into line with the global standards set by the Financial Action Task Force. Through the introduction of stronger oversight structures and greater transparency around beneficial owner

The Finnish Parliament has approved the Government’s proposal for a new Gambling Act, marking a significant shift in the country’s gaming landscape. Under the reform, Veikkaus’ exclusive right to offer gambling services will end for betting games as well as online slot machine and casino games in the summer of 2027. The company will, however, retain its monopoly on lottery games, scratch cards, and physical slot machines and casino games. Gambling companies will be able to ap

For much of the past year, Europe’s gambling watchdogs have been fixated on two familiar adversaries: rising taxes and the black market. The higher levies introduced across several jurisdictions in 2025 were designed to raise public revenues and curb excessive gambling, while tougher enforcement was meant to drive illegal operators out of the shadows. Yet the headlines that followed painted a far more complicated picture. Licensed companies complained that their margins were

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier has imposed an administrative fine of €185,000 on Rakuten Europe Bank S.A. after identifying serious shortcomings in the institution’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. The decision was formally adopted on May 19, 2025, and made public on the regulator’s website in early 2026. The sanction corresponds to approximately one percent of the bank’s annual turnover as reported at the end of the 2022 f